Jets FB John Connor: Trent Richardson 'a perfect fit for our offense'

By Will Brinson | NFL Writer

April 26, 2012 4:01 PM ET

NEW YORK -- It's draft day in NYC, so there's more speculation about potential trades than you could ever imagine. An interesting one that started making the rounds on Wednesday involves the Jets figuring out a way to move up and grab Alabama running back Trent Richardson.

We'll get to the logistics in a minute, but for now let's examine how the Jets would feel about such a move. Or, at least, Jets fullback John Connor, who was attending an NFLPA rookie dinner on Wednesday evening to help mentor incoming NFL players.

"Oh, that would be huge!" Connor said when asked about the rumor surrounding the Jets moving up. "He's a big, physical runner. Just watching him at the National Championship game and games throughout the season, he's a tough runner who gets the short yardage. I think he'd be a perfect fit for our offense in the way we like to run the ball."

Richardson is the fourth-ranked player on Rob Rang's Big Board and he's by far and away the best running back in the draft. There's some belief that he's the best running back since Adrian Peterson to enter the league, and teams that are in need of a boost to the ground game -- think Browns, Buccaneers and the Jets -- are going to want him.

The theoretical price here probably involves a first-round pick -- if the Jets wanted to assure themselves of landing Richardson, it basically involves a trade with the Vikings.

"It's ridiculous," a Jets source told Mehta when asked about the price to move up to No. 3.

It's not ridiculous if Richardson is as good as everyone believes, but it would be a bit awkward for Shonn Greene. Connor wasn't asked about Greene, but the implied logic here (and the general belief anyway) is that Greene's not a sufficient enough feature back to run Rex Ryan's ground-and-pound offense.

That's precisely why they went out and traded for Tim Tebow this offseason and it's why they're rumored to be interested in making a move for Richardson. But as happy as it might make Connor, there's a good shot it's too expensive to pull off.